MTV’s “Pimp My Ride” has been off the air since 2007, but one 17-year University tailgating veteran has taken inspiration from the show.

Darren D’Aubin debuted his luxury stepvan at the inaugural home game of LSU’s 2017 football season. The double-decker truck is painted purple with a gold stripe stretching across the middle all the way around. Inside the stripe on both sides of the van reads “GEAUX TIGERS.”

As the purple and gold stepvan was becoming a ubiquitous part of the University’s tailgating experience, D’Aubin decided to “pimp his ride” by adding a rooftop patio.

“We were getting tired of being outshone by all our neighbors so we decided to get a truck,” D’Aubin said. “We looked like the Clampetts coming here because we were all in the back of  a pickup truck “

Large trucks in the Lockett Hall parking lot have been a staple of tailgating for several years now, and D’Aubin’s new additions have certainly set his ride apart from the others. What began as a simple upgrade to his group’s tailgating experience has made D’Aubin the talk of the Lockett Hall tailgaters circuit.  

“We bought this truck and painted it over the summer and we had this bright idea that we should have a deck on the roof,” D’Aubin said. “Now we have a deck on the roof.”

The truck does much more than just transport the equipment required for a successful tailgate – it is half of the tailgate itself. The truck is equipped with a DJ booth, downstairs lounge, porch and a step ladder leading to the rooftop patio. At any moment in the tailgate, the truck could be blasting music, airing the early football games on its two TVs, holding ice chests full of refreshments for the tailgaters and providing a shady escape from the Louisiana sun all at once.   

D’Aubin is a 1993 University graduate  who majored in real estate finance  and is a member of  a troop of 15 tailgating couples called the #CajunTigerTailgating15.

The upgrades to D’Aubin’s van makes it relatively new, and the upgraded truck has only experienced three tailgates so far. D’aubin plans to add plenty of wear and tear to  his double decker stepvan by tailgating with it as long as possible.

“We’ll be tailgating with this until it dies,” D’Aubin said. “And then we’ll probably put a new motor in it and keep going.”